by If you run a business, you will have to deal with an angry customer sooner or later. It can be a challenging situation and you need to think on your toes if you want to deal with it positively. Otherwise, one angry customer can turn into a bad review online or put off more potential customers from your business. And dealing with an angry customer first is easier than reputation management later on.
Sales, services, food, and e-commerce industry employees often face this predicament but professional customer care agents know how to deal with it. For example, no matter how agitated you are when calling the Cox customer service phone number, you’ll find the support staff to be always friendly and courteous. This can turn your mood around and you are more likely to listen to a possible explanation.
Tips to Keep Customers Happy
Dealing with difficult customers can be a real test of your patience. However, you should remember that it is not personal and the customer is always right. So, no matter what you do, you have to listen to their woes without sounding passive-aggressive. Here are a few things to remember when dealing with a disgruntled client.
1: Listen Carefully
Whenever a customer comes to you with a complaint, all they want is to be heard. A little hand-holding can go a long way and active listening can be the best strategy. Instead of trying to make your point, you should let them talk and let all their frustration out. Once they are done talking, they are more likely to listen to you as well. The best way to start the conversation is by asking what went wrong. Even if you have the solution right away, wait for them to finish their story first.
Active listening means that you don’t jump to conclusions or tell the client how they should feel about the situation at hand. If you impose anything when a client is already angry, you are likely to add fuel to the fire.
2: Acknowledge Your Mistake
The worst thing you can do when dealing with a frustrated customer is to not accept your mistakes. If the customer is rightfully mad at your business, you need to be humble and apologize for the first chance that you get. In fact, before you even try to provide a solution, tell them that you are sorry for the inconvenience. An apology that comes from the heart will show the customer your humility, humbleness, and the ability to listen to constructive criticism.
3: Be Honest
Most of the time, an honest explanation of what went wrong might be all that the customer is looking for. So, instead of using generic and hollow statements that sound like a robot wrote them, be honest and humanize the experience for the customer. You can say sorry, but it can mean more if you tell them what went wrong. It could be a miscommunication or a personnel issue and most customers will appreciate the honesty. Moreover, it allows your clients to put themselves in your shoes and empathize with you.
4: Ask Questions
Sometimes when a customer is angry, it can be hard for them to articulate their experience in a coherent way. They probably don’t know what details are needed for operations and investigation and might miss telling you important information. So, repeat their concerns to make sure that you are dealing with the right problem. if it is still unclear, ask them questions that can help you get to the bottom of it. Repeating the problem can pinpoint any details you were missing and also let the customer know that you were listening to them.
5: Always Respect the Customer
It goes without saying that no matter how loud or rude the customer gets, you can’t disrespect them. Ideally, the customer shouldn’t yell at you either but you can’t control others, only your reaction. So, don’t be tempted to pay them back in the same coin because it will hurt your business more than you think. Realign all your thoughts and only focus on the issue at hand and how you can fix it.
6: Show Some Empathy
Empathizing with an angry customer doesn’t mean that you agree with them entirely. However, it can help you understand where they are coming from. If you can relate to the customer’s predicament, you might be able to help them out on a personal level. It can be easier to de-escalate the entire problem by showing empathy and listening to the customer.
Conclusion
It is important to understand that the customer is angry at a sub-standard service and not you. so, taking the complaint personally won’t help any of the stakeholders. Try to build and maintain a trustworthy relationship with all your customers and stay calm. That should solve most of your problems.
